Two days after the Aurora shootings, we received a press release from an indoor gun range in Las Vegas heralding its newest handgun available for use. Plastered with Murakami-era Louis Vuitton logos, the handgun grip "cater[s] to gun enthusiasts who also have a desire to look stylish." Says Machine Gun Las Vegas, "Like Marc Jacobs putting Sponge Bob Square Pants [sic] onto LV monogrammed bags, Machine Guns Vegas has created their own Louis Vuitton accessory — a monogrammed Louis Vuitton grip for a handgun — which is legal to carry in the state of Nevada."
Yes, because a designer integrating a cartoon character into his own brand's monogram is exactly the same as using an established luxury brand's designs and decorating a device intended to maim and kill and that also represents a controversial national discourse about a layperson's right to conceal and carry. Right. Just to make sure that the LV logo was indeed being misused, we reached out to Louis Vuitton reps who confirmed: "Louis Vuitton is in no way associated with this company. We do not manufacture gun grips and do not condone the alteration of our creations in any way."
